Friday, January 09, 2009

Unlikely circumstances have lead to my relocation into an undergraduate dorm here at NYU. I can't help but note the irony that my final semester in college will be my first semester in the dorms (a fact that also owes itself to unlikely circumstances). While it seems like every sophomore is dying to move out into their own overpriced bachelor(ette) pad in Manhattan I've found myself settling into a mediocre apartment-style residence hall in a neighborhood that an optimist would call TriBeCa but your nose would tell you Chinatown.

Regardless of the change in scenery I can't find a single thing to complain about. Sharing a room for the first time will undoubtedly take some getting used to. But I couldn't of asked for a better person to share a room with (team mate/ friend/ and of course, avid reader of the Bzablog). Not to mention all the other familiar faces who I've already run into here. People I've known since my first week in NYC.

Maybe it takes two years struggling to find a shoebox for rent in the Manhattan real estate market to appreciate the luxuries of the dorm life I've never known.

No, not NYU's Sports and Recreation Center. When Cole's first opened in Downtown LA used to serve up french-dipped sandwiches that rivaled a little place called Phillipe's by Union Station. After decades of dormancy it has recently been re-opened thanks to new owner, Cedd Moses (7 Grand, La Cita etc.)

I had the roast beef sandwich with cheddar and a side of baked potato salad. Both were surprisingly excellent given the time of night, the late-rush and relatively new kitchen (less than 2 weeks open). The roast beef was prepared perfectly medium and the au jus wasn't too salty like you might find at a regular diner. Although the prices are relatively higher than Phillipe's, the quality of the ingredients and the final product make for an overall better sandwich.